Creating Brand Awareness Through Event Marketing : The Off-Field Competition of Sportswear Companies in the Olympics

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Mälardalen University

School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology

International Marketing

Master Thesis EFO705

Creating Brand Awareness Through Event

Marketing

The Off-Field Competition of Sportswear Companies in the Olympics

Laura Dolge

Malin Marmbrandt

Supervisor: Peter Ekman

Examiner:

Ole Liljefors

Västerås, Sweden

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Abstract

Date: May 30, 2012

University: Mälardalen University, Sweden Program: MIMA- International Marketing Course Name: Master Thesis (EFO705)

Title: Creating Brand Awareness Through Event Marketing

The Off-Field Competition of Sportswear Companies in the Olympics Authors: Laura Dolge

Malin Marmbrandt Group Number: 2877

Supervisor: Peter Ekman Examiner: Ole Liljefors

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to research how companies are promoting themselves efficiently to increase brand awareness through advertisement in major sporting events, throug+h viral marketing and athlete endorsement.

Research Questions: Firstly: What are the major differences and similarities between the official and non-official sponsors and their marketing activities when creating brand awareness in sporting events?

Secondly: How do official and non-official sponsoring companies increase brand awareness in sporting events through viral marketing activities?

Thirdly: How do official and non-official sponsoring companies increase brand awareness in sporting events through athlete endorsement?

Method: Data was collected with a qualitative multi-method approach that consists of observations of online social networks and media (netnography), and semi-structured interviews was applied.

Conclusion: The main differences between the official and the non-official sponsor´s marketing campaigns are that the official sponsor has the advantage of using the event’s logo in its campaigns, and is able to

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III advertise during the event. Whilst, there are many rules that restricts the non-official company´s campaigns. Regardless, non-official sponsors are still able to associate themselves with the event by using creative viral marketing campaigns and endorsing athletes, thus create brand awareness by so called ambush marketing.

Keywords: Brand awareness, The Olympics, London 2012, Sponsorship, Ambush Marketing, Athlete Endorsement, Viral marketing, Adidas, Nike.

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IV

Acknowledgement

This study would not have been possible without the guidance and help from several individuals who in one way or another contributed valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study.

First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our supervisor, Peter Ekman, for his continuous support of our master thesis, and for his help, motivation, and enthusiasm. His guidance helped us throughout this entire process, including the researching and writing of this thesis.

We would also like to thank the opponents in our seminar group for their encouragement, insightful comments, and constructive critiques during this course.

In addition, we would like to thank the interviewees that devoted their time to participate in the interviews.

Last but not least, we would like to thank our families for their support and help during this hectic time.

Västerås, May 30, 2012

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List of Illustrations

Illustration 1 Olympic Mascotts ... 26

Illustration 2 Olympic Logo ... 26

Illustration 3 Adidas brand anthem; Adidas „All In” campaign ... 29

Illustration 4 Adidas Take The Stage campaign ... 30

Illustration 5 Adidas „All In 2012” banner ... 30

Illustration 6 Team GB Athletic Gear; Adidas Olympic Sportswear Collection ... 31

Illustration 7 Adidas 2012 Media Launch ... 31

Illustration 8 AdiZone Court ... 32

Illustration 9 Nike „Maka It Count” Campaign ... 33

Illustration 10 Nike | How Will You Make 2012 Count? ... 34

Illustration 11 Nike + Fuel Band ... 34

Illustration 12 Nike Fuel Band Trip Video ... 35

Illustration 13 Nike Turbo Speed Suit ... 35

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List of Figures

Figure 1 Brand Characteristics ... 5

Figure 2Forms of Ambush Marketing ... 13

Figure 3 Conceptual Framework ... 15

Figure 4 Summary of the viral video views ... 42

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Chapter 1: Introduction

In Chapter 1, the topic of this study is introduced and background information about the research topic is provided. The introduction of the research area is followed by the problem description, the purpose of the paper, the research question, and this chapter ends with an outline of the study.

1.1 Background and research area

The Olympic Games (Games) is one of the greatest sporting events in the world (Sookiew, 2012), and has been hosted every fourth year (with the exception of 1940 and 1944) since the first modern Games in Athens in 1896 (Polley, 2011). The event invites the world's best athletes to compete in several sports, and outside the sports the Games promote freedom and unity for the people around the globe. The Olympics is one of the most popular and watched events in the world with millions of viewers on television and the Internet and with thousands of enthusiastic spectators watching the Games live in the Olympic Stadium (Olympic Review, 2009). For example, the estimated number of viewers watching the Olympic Games on TV is 3.7 billion people from 220 countries (Olympic Review, 2009). Nowadays, the Olympics is not only about sports and watching the best athletes in the world compete, it has also become a business where some of the greatest companies in the world compete through marketing, promotion and advertisement before and during the Games, and by sponsoring individual athletes, teams and countries in order to increase brand recognition and brand awareness (Lee, 2005). Moreover, the number of users of social media networks has increased immensely in recent years. During the time of the last Olympics in 2008, the world had around 100 million people using social networks. In 2012, 2 billion people use social networks like Twitter and Facebook (Miller, 2012). The 2012 Games will be the first Olympics where social media is really widespread. Therefore, this new and attractive marketing communication channel will be used by many brands to create brand awareness prior and during the Olympics, and this year’s Olympics are considered to be the first “Socialympics” (Miller, 2012). In this study, authors will investigate how companies make use of the Olympic event to create brand awareness through viral marketing as well as athlete endorsement prior to the Games.

Brand awareness is an important aspect for every company. In order to be successful and recognizable, a brand must have qualities that build this awareness between customer and a brand. However, brand awareness can also occur without any actual involvement or relationship, for example people might recognize a brand and spread word of mouth (WOM) or have an opinion about it (Hong-Youl, 2004; Aperia and Back, 2004). In the Olympics only one brand in each product category can be the official sponsor. This brand has the exclusive rights to use the events logo and the word “official” in its marketing campaigns, they also have other beneficial advantages when promoting their brand during the event in order to gain brand awareness (Meenaghan, 1996).

One way for the non-official sponsoring companies to market themselves and increase brand awareness in the Olympics is through the use of ambush marketing, which is a marketing tactic used to associate a non-sponsor company with an event without paying any sponsorship fees (Schmitz, 2005). The non-official sponsoring companies can develop creative advertising

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2 campaigns around the event, without using the event logo, trademark or trade name, and still be able to create brand awareness and association with the event (Schmitz, 2005).

This study is focused on the sportswear industry. Sportswear is a visible element that athletes are wearing during the competition, thus audience is exposed to the sportswear brands when they are looking at athletes. For the Olympics 2012 in London this summer, the official sponsoring sportswear company will be Adidas (London 2012 Organizing Committee, 2011). Despite Adidas´s exclusive deal with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), there is no doubt that other sportswear companies will try to get noticed (Kelso, 2012). Nike is one of Adidas´s main competitors, and will be discussed in this study as an example of a non-official sponsoring company.

1.2 Description of the problem

The need for sponsorship is crucial for major sporting events to take place since it takes a lot of financial investments. Therefore, events have official sponsors that are offered exclusive rights to advertise in the event and gain brand awareness, and these rights are acquired by paying a sponsorship fee (Ellen, 2010). Major events are also a marketing opportunity for a brand to be seen and to create brand awareness among consumers from the brand’s target market (Kim, 2010). Meenaghan (1996) explains that a problem often occuring during these large events is that other non-official sponsoring companies are also marketing their brand and products at or nearby the event, or run commercials with a connection to the event to create brand awareness. These marketing strategies, called “Ambush Marketing”, detract from a rival that is the official sponsor, and thereby it can diminish the value of the official sponsorship. “This practice, known

as ´ambush´ or ´parasitic´ marketing, simultaneously reduces the effectiveness of the sponsor’s message while undermining the quality and value of the sponsorship opportunity that the event owner is selling.” (Meenaghan, 1996 p103).

In this study, advertising campaigns prior to the Olympics 2012 will be examined and analyzed, and a comparison between the official sponsor and the non-official sponsor will be conducted. In the sportswear industry, there are two market leaders competing for brand awareness and market share - Adidas and Nike (Kelso, 2012a). Adidas is the official sponsor in London this summer, where the Games will be taking place from July 27th to August 12th, making it the exclusive advertiser for sports apparel and shoes during this period. This study will investigate the marketing activities that Adidas performs in relation to the Games through viral marketing and athlete endorsement. Moreover, this study will also investigate how Nike as a non-official sponsor is creating brand awareness in connection with the Games and their use of ambush marketing. However, there are many legal limitations and restrictions regarding ambush marketing in the Olympics 2012 that Nike must take into consideration before launching their campaigns (London 2012 Organizing Committee, 2011).

Marketing in connection to sporting events through viral marketing is a new and rapidly growing phenomena (Miller, 2012), thus there is a knowledge gap regarding this topic (Owen & Humphfrey, n.d). The growth of ambush marketing in large events and the importance of athletes in companies advertisements are other interesting topics that the authors found little academic research on when conducting the literature review. Therefore, the authors wanted to

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3 investigate these marketing tactic’s impact on the London Olympics 2012. Moreover, the authors aim is to compare the different marketing activities from the official sponsor and a non-official sponsor, and to evaluate their performance in order to find out if the official sponsorship in the event ensures the highest brand awareness.

1.3 Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to analyse how companies are promoting themselves efficiently to increase their brand awareness through advertisement in major sporting events by either sponsoring the event or by using ambush marketing strategies. A comparison between an official sponsor and a non-official sponsoring company will be conducted. The authors focused the investigation on two of the marketing channels: viral marketing and athlete endorsement.

1.3.1 Research Question

In order to examine the different marketing activities companies are using to promote themselves and to create brand awareness in the Olympics, the following research questions were developed to guide the research:

R.Q.1: What are the major differences and similarities between the official and non-official sponsors and their marketing activities when creating brand awareness in sporting events?

R.Q.2: How do official and non-official sponsoring companies increase brand awareness in sporting events through viral marketing activities?

R.Q.3: How do official and non-official sponsoring companies increase brand awareness in sporting events through athlete endorsement?

1.4 Outline of the Study

Chapter 1 includes introduction, background information and research area of this study. Further, the problem, purpose and research questions are presented. Chapter 2 provides a theoretical framework where definitions, key concepts and theories are defined and explained. Moreover, Chapter 3 explains the methods the authors used when conducting the research, as well as reliability, validity, ethics and limitations. Additionally, Chapter 4 presents the empirical findings of the chosen companies marketing strategies in the the Olympics, and also about ambush marketing in previous Olympics found through the conducted research, observing the viral environment, and when conducting interviews. In Chapter 5, the empirical material is analyzed and compared to previous theories presented in the theoretical chapter. Lastly, in Chapter 6, the conclusions are presented as well as the answers to the research questions. In the end of this chapter recommendations are provided.

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Chapter 2: Theoretical framework

In this chapter the authors define the concepts that were used in this study and present a conceptual framework. The theoretical framework guides the audience through the concepts, and provides structure and coherence during the data collection and analysis for the researchers.

2.1 Branding

A brand is distinguished by a name or symbol that identifies a product and helps to differentiate it from others (Dolak, 2003). In general, branding builds name recognition for one´s company or product (Dolak, 2003). It is very important to stand out in today's global marketplace because people are surrounded by many products and services. Therefore the importance of brand management has greatly increased. In fact, the marketer´s most essential task today is building and managing their brands (Kottler & Armstrong, 2010). The brand has to be carefully developed and managed, and therefore branding is a vital part of the marketing strategy. A brand is the company´s most powerful and valuable intangible asset, and can even be more important than the company´s products or services and facilities (Aaker, 1991). Kotler and Keller (2006) argue that because brands represent consumers´ perceptions and feelings about a product, the most critical aspect for a brand to capture is consumer preference and loyalty. Companies develop new products and build new stores and factories, despite the fierce competition and the fact that there are few empty or undeveloped niches. Therefore, in order to fight for market share, every product has to be different than the company’s rivals and it is essential to stand out (Ghauri & Cateora, 2010). When brands are successful they represent kept promises and they build loyalty through trust. This results into loyal customers who continue to demand products, and consequently profit for the company (Reichheld, 2001).

By establishing the brand, it is possible to develop and shape it further. As mentioned above, brands are one of the most valuable assets that companies have. They can increase the value of a company over time or provide an opportunity to expand the business - for example by creating sub-brands and therefore allowing operations in different areas. Moreover, the company can develop a strong brand personality that makes it possible to explore new areas with the same brand. An example of this is Virgin offering services and products within various areas, like airline, music records and media. Further, differentiating a brand has become a central task for companies in the quest to become more competitive and moving towards building or producing a brand, rather than a product (Ghauri & Cateora, 2010).

Brands do evolve over time. There are five levels that can be stated in a pyramid form. The first level pertains to attributes that make brands special and express the identity of the producer (i.e. label). The second level is known as functional superiority or benefits. The third level is referred to as the emotional reward that customer receives by using a brand. The fourth level pertains to customer values and the power of self-expression image. At the top of the pyramid stands a brand’s personality, which is the major component of brand building and includes promotion of its image and lifestyle. Ghauri & Cateora (2010) suggests complementing this

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5 pyramid with two extra characteristics that are consistency and differentiation. These qualities are important in terms of a quality and uniqueness.

Figure 1 Brand Characteristics

Based upon Ghauri, et al, 2010

Regarding brand’s personality, consumers can easily relate a brand to a person with its human characteristics and it can be described as the emotional relationship that exists between a brand and a consumer. This can also be defined as brand congruence (Ghauri,. et al, 2010). “The

greater the intensity of personal expression and involvement in the consumption of goods, the more important the congruence between brand and human personality becomes” (Maehle, 2010, p.47).

Brand personality is often the factor that distinguishes one brand from another and therefore attracts different customers. Consumers tend to buy products that are perceived to be similar to their own self-concept: thus self-image is being compared with the brand. (Evans, M., Jama, A., & Foxall, G. (2010).

The way that companies want consumers to perceive their brand is through the brand´s identity (Ghodeswar, 2008). Brand identity is the basis for all brand building activities: it consists of several brand elements and it is possible to divide them into a core identity that includes name, trademark, communications, visual appearance and extended identity. Core identity is related to functional benefits that brand conveys, and it can be on a low, medium, high, or very high level. Thus, extended identity includes more emotional and self-expressive benefits that complement a brand and are related to the experience of owning and using the concrete brand (Lombard, 2007; Chitale and Gupta, 2011). Each brand has a different level of core and extended identity. These brand elements that form brand identity create brand awareness amongst people and differentiate brands from each other. According to Keller (2008), there are six general criterion for brand elements that should be followed in order to develop brand that people are aware of: Memorability (easily recognized, easily recalled); Meaningfulness (descriptive, persuasive); Likability (fun and interesting, rich visual and verbal imagery); Transferability (within and across product categories, across geographic boundaries and cultures); Adaptability (flexible,

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6 up-datable); and Protect-ability (legally, competitively) (Lombard, 2007; Keller, 2008; Chitale and Gupya, 2011).

A company´s branding efforts are performed to strengthen the brand and to make customers and potential customers aware of the brand. The next topic for this study is brand awareness, which is the first step in the traditional model of consumer purchase behavior, and is crucial to differentiating the product from other similar products and competitors.

2.2 Brand awareness

Brand awareness is an essential step in the communications process for businesses and in the creation of brand equity. Without the occurrence of brand awareness, no other communication effect can occur. A consumer must be aware of a brand to buy it (Macdonald & Sharp, 2003; Koniewski, 2012). The marketing model AIDA, which means Attention/Awareness, followed by Interest, Desire and Action, describes this system and gives a general understanding of how a company can target a market effectively. AIDA also explains that it all starts with attention and awareness. Brand awareness refers to the strength of a brand’s presence in the consumer’s mind (Aaker, 1996).

Koniewski (2012) argues that when a consumer is about to purchase a product, their choices are frequently made in reliance to brand awareness. Brand awareness reflects the customers’ knowledge and capacity to recognize a brand. The level of brand awareness is heavily affected by the synergy of the brand name itself and the attached symbols, imagery and brand slogan within the given condition (Aaker, 1996). The reason brand awareness affects the consumers´ buying behaviour is because it represents the main factors for including a brand in the consumers´ evoked set. The evoked set is the group of relevant brands a consumer chooses between when thinking about purchasing a product. Brand awareness can also influence consumers’ buying behaviour in other ways: for example, the perceived risk is lower if they are already familiar with the brand. Moreover, brand awareness influences customers’ perceptions and attitudes, and it also affects brand loyalty (Koniewski, 2012; Hoyer & Brown, 1990). It is notable that brand awareness only describes the fact that the customer is aware of the brand and able to identify it, and it does not necessarily mean that they prefer one specific brand over others (Dolak, 2003).

According to Dolak (2003), brand awareness can be divided into three levels: brand recognition; brand recall; and top-of-the-mind awareness. Brand recognition is when a customer is able to confirm that he or she has previously seen the brand and expresses familiarity with it (Dolak, 2003). Brand recall reflects awareness of a brand when it comes into a customer´s mind as soon as the brand’s product category is mentioned. The highest form of awareness is top-of-the-mind awareness, which means that a customer thinks of a particular brand first, when they hear a product category (Dolak, 2003). This is a very attractive position for a brand to obtain. For example, if the product category “fast food” is mentioned, McDonald´s is often mentioned as one of the top alternatives, and the brand is enjoying a strong top-of-the-mind awareness in its category. Factors that help to build brand awareness are the brand name, advertising and sales promotions, the use of celebrities endorsing the brand, the popularity of the parent company, public relations, and peer group opinions (Aaker, 1996).

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7 In sports marketing, branding and the creation of brand awareness can be performed in several ways by using different sports marketing communication channels, which will be discussed in the next section.

2.3 Sports marketing communication channels

“Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers-directly or indirectly—about the products and brands that they sell” (Kotler &

Keller, 2006 p.536). Nowadays people are exposed to information and advertisements through various communication channels. These communication channels have to be appropriate and have an image fit between the channel, product, the environment or context that it is transferred in (Kotler & Keller, 2006). Sport events are gaining popularity and the sport event business is growing every day, therefore, sports marketing has been developed. The sport business is worth billions of dollars and thus marketers have realized that sports marketing is a vital part of the economy and offers a ripe opportunity for consumer marketers (Bush, 2005). Studies have proved that people tend to rely on word of mouth which can influence a consumer´s purchase behaviour (Rosen, 2000). Thus sport-oriented companies are recognizing that creating a “buzz”, whether it is via peers, key Internet portals, market mavens, or celebrity endorsements, is an integral part of their marketing communications strategy (Rosen, 2000).

In order to reach customer’s attention, it is necessary to develop marketing communications that inform, persuade, and remind customers about the brands that are represented. Such communication can be provided directly or indirectly to build relationships with customers and to develop brand awareness (Kotler & Keller, 2006). These marketing communication options can be mixed and combined according to the necessity and relevance. It is possible that customers find the marketing channel inappropriate for the product, thus it creates negative association towards it. For example, life insurance advertisement in aircraft can develop negative feelings for passengers that are afraid to fly (Keller, 2008).

There are ten suggested marketing communication channels: Media advertising (TV, radio, newspaper); Direct response advertising (Mail, telephone, broadcast media, print media); Viral Marketing (Web sites, interactive ads and e-mails); Place advertising (Billboards and posters, movies, airlines, product placement); Point-of-purchase advertising (Shelf talkers, aisle markers, shopping cart ads, in-store radio and TV); Trade promotions (Cooperative advertising, trade deals and buying allowances, contests); Consumer promotions (Samples, coupons, premiums, bonus packs,price-offs); Event marketing & sponsorship (Sports, arts, entertainment, festivals); Publicity and public relations; Personal selling (Keller, 2008, p. 230)

As for this study, the authors focus on two of the communication channels; event marketing & sponsorship, and viral marketing. In connection to these, topics of athlete endorsement and ambush marketing are discussed. The authors chose these topics since event sponsorship is a common marketing communication channel for sportswear companies that use large events to promote themselves. Moreover, athlete endorsement is also often used by sportswear companies in large events to gain awareness, since their products are visible during games and competitions. In this years Olympics the use of viral marketing has increased largely, and

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8 therefore it is an interesting area to research. These topics will now be discussed in the following sections.

2.3.1 Event Sponsorship

Sponsorship is similar to traditional advertising in the way that both are used to communicate an organization’s message and image of a product, brand or service to the target market (Jalleh, 2002). Sponsorship is a common marketing activity that takes place in public events or projects and it is also known as event marketing (Sneath et al., 2005). Connecting a brand to an event is a good approach to address consumers. “By forging this connection, sponsorship makes use of

balance theory which states that when a belief may be unbalanced and unstable about two objects, the human mind unconsciously tries to link the lowly valued object (product) with the highly valued object (event). As a result of this process, sponsorship creates, in the minds of consumers, a link between the company or brand and an event or organisation that targets consumers’ value highly” (Erdogan & Kitchen, 1998). Another advantage of using events as a communication

channel includes the face-to-face contact a sponsoring company can have with their target audience (Sneath, Finney, Close, 2005).

Every company cooperates differently depending on the type of event and product. According to Fill (2006) sponsorship is a commercial activity, whereby one part permits another part an opportunity to exploit an association with a target audience in return for funds, services or resources. In this research the authors put emphasis on sports marketing as it is a popular type of events that attracts many people and therefore marketers as well. It is important to choose appropriate events in order to match the target audience and the brand. There are four crucial factors that affect sponsor recall: sponsor relatedness, sponsor prominence, buyer exposure to the brand at the event, and buyer exposure to the brand “due to individual involvement or

identification with the sport and team” (Wakefield, et al, 2007, p.67). The intensity and frequency

of the individual´s relationship with the event will drive the level of event’s sponsor recall. Therefore, the image of the event is very important. It has to have sufficient awareness and has to be able to deliver desired expectations. Gwinner and Eaton (1999) suggest two types of product relevance: function-based, in which the product is used in the course of the event by the participants, and image-based, in which the brand seems to belong with the event. “Sponsorships

are now one of the fastest growing marketing communications vehicles in the world” (Gwinner &

Eaton, 1999).

There are many ways in which a company can identify itself as a sponsor. The most popular ones are signs, banners or special programs and it can be supplemented with prizes, free samples of goods, and retail promotions (Keller, 2008; Hede and Kellett, 2011). Personal contact with the brand during the event can increase possibility that potential customer will remember it or even buy it. For example, allowing people to interact with the product or talk to the representatives. As for TV viewers of the event, they can switch the channel or do something else during the break because people tend to avoid commercials, yet they are exposed to the banners and other ads on the spot during the event. For example, football fields with sponsored banners and branded athletes are impossible to avoid. This kind of passive communication is not as effective as active interaction with the viewer, although this is the only communication tool for visual media audience. (Nickell, Cornwell, & Johnston, 2011)

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2.3.2 Viral Marketing

The future of traditional mass media advertising is uncertain (Ingram, 2010) since the rising cost of buying traditional media has made the marketers search for other channels (Wilson, 2005). At the same time consumers consider themselves overwhelmed by too many advertising messages, leading to consumers that actively avoid traditional marketing instruments (Hinz, 2012). An alternative marketing channel that companies can use to promote themselves is viral marketing. Viral marketing is described as a marketing technique that use social networks to create brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives, by encouraging individuals to pass on a marketing message to other users or sites (Wilson, 2005; Hinz, 2012). Viral marketing is an attractive alternative since it uses the free endorsement of individuals rather than purchasing mass media to spread the word (Wilson, 2005) Moreover, viral advertising is an efficient marketing tool, because consumers can pick and choose what ads they want to watch and when, and when opting in voluntarily, the message is received more effectively (Howard, 2005).

This marketing strategy depends on a high pass-along rate from person to person, with so called word-of-mouth (WOM) and buzz marketing. Buzz marketing is simply referred to as “buzz”, and is an expression of the type of publicity spread among consumers online, causing excitement for the product being marketed (MindComet, 2008).“Buzz marketing is a multi-dimensional

communication process that involves sending persuasive messages out via buzz agents (senders) to buzz targets (receivers) in the form of WOM (offline and online) conversations, and retrieving market research information from buzz agents on the particulars of these buzz marketing experiences” (Roshan, Michels, Walker, Weissbuch, 2007 p.151). A positive buzz is usually the

aim of viral marketing (Roshan et al., 2007).

Viral marketing is considered to be an inexpensive, effective and powerful tool to increase the popularity of a brand and it creates a potential for exponential growth in the message's visibility and effect if a buzz is generated online (Hinz 2012; MindComet, 2008). A buzz spread like a virus, and the viral strategies take advantage of the rapid multiplication, where a message can be shared by thousands, and even millions in a short period of time (Wilson, 2005). Viral marketing may take the form of video clips, emails, images, interactive flash games, advergames, or text messages (Rodić, 2012). Platforms used for launching these marketing messages and campaigns include the brand's social media page (for example twitter, facebook, youtube), blogs, the campaign´s own website or the brand´s website (Rodić, 2012). A trend among major marketers is to create interactive online campaigns in which they try to create messages so fascinating, funny or evocative that the consumers spontaneously want to share them with friends in the viral environment. If the consumers gets involved in the ad, it is more likely that the consumers will share message (Ives, 2005).

The main strength of viral marketing is that it involves targeted promotion, meaning that it can reach a large number of interested people at low costs. The challenge with viral marketing is to make the message creative or attractive enough for users to want to bother spreading it around (Hinz, 2012). There are various reasons why people would not want to share and spread the ad

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10 further, for example, it is too shocking or involves nudity or rudeness that a person would not like to share with others. Teixeria (2012) has conducted experiments demonstrating that even though people enjoy particular advertisement, it does not necessarily mean that they will share it with others. Therefore, although people may enjoy a shocking ad and watch it privately, it often works against their desire to share it. (Teixeira, 2012)

2.3.3 Athlete endorsement

One way companies can promote themselves during and in connection to major events is by sponsoring athletes, so called athlete endorsement (Braunstein-Minkove, Zhang, Trail, 2011). Companies pay large amounts of money for the endorsements of athletes and in return the endorsed athletes are expected to accomplish a number of objectives. These include “capture the

attention of consumers, strengthen recall of the brand name, reinforce the image of the product, give the message credibility, increase product attractiveness, increase liking and recall of the ad, and increase the likelihood of purchase” (Martin, 1996. p28).

Lear, Runyan & Whitaker (2009) argues that companies use public recognition of a person to recommend or co-present a product in an ad. Further, manufacturers and retailers have used athlete endorsement for many years in order to sell products, since athlete endorsement are likely to influence consumer buying decisions positively (Lear, et al, 2009).

Endorsement contracts with professional athletes are contracts that bind the athlete with a specific company, and the athlete’s name is associated with the company’s products and services (Lee, 2005). For example, sportswear companies use this kind of marketing extensively, where they provide the athlete with shoes, clothing and other equipment to wear during the competitions that will improve the athlete’s performance, and at the same time reach out to millions of viewers at the television with their brand appearance and advertising (Lipsey, 2006). The contracts will vary a lot for different athletes depending on the popularity of the sport and the level at which the athlete competes at, ranging from only receiving the products for free, to being paid a large sum of money to wear the company’s clothing and shoes. This is usually very beneficial for the companies since their products are used and advertised by the world’s most successful athletes (Lee, 2005). The athletes are being exposed on TV with the company’s products. For example, the estimated number of viewers watching the Olympic Games on TV is 3.7 billion people in 220 countries (Olympic Review, 2009).

The success of an athlete endorsement is evaluated in terms of how well the athlete can reach a specific market and transport a favorable brand image (Barez, Manion, Schoepfer, Cherian, 2007). There are many factors that determines the effectiveness of a company's athlete endorsement. Image-match between the athlete being endorsed and the sponsoring company is essential. Moreover, there has to be a congruence between the athlete and the target market (Simmers, Damron-Martinez, Haytko, 2009; Berez et. al., 2007). Another factor that determines the success or failure of a athlete endorser is how well the athlete perform in competitions and games. If the athlete is successful and wins, the sponsoring company will receive more attention and increase brand awareness (Elberse, 2009; Hoecke, Hoecke, De Knop, Taks, n.d). Consumer's perception of the athlete's performance, perceptions of the sponsored athletes image, charisma,

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11 physical appearance and personality are factors that also play a large role in determining the effectiveness (Hoecke et al., n.d).

According to Miciak and Shanklin (1994) there are five basic questions that should be considered before endorsing an athlete. Is the athlete trustworthy, recognisable by the target audience, affordable, at little risk for negative publicity, and appropriately matched with the intended audience? Miciak and Shanklin (1994) also discusses four other factors that affects the success of an endorsement: familiarity, relevance, esteem and differentiation. Firstly, familiarity is an essential component of an effective endorser. The athlete has to be perceived by the target market as friendly, likeable and trustworthy. Secondly, relevance is important because a link has to exist between the athlete and the product, as well as between the athlete and the target market. Thirdly, esteem is explained as the level of respect the consumers have for the athlete. High respect leads to a credible commercial. Finally, differentiation is important and the athlete has to be unique in some way and stand out and so the target audience will be able to see the endorser (Miciak & Shanklin, 1994). Other factors affecting the success of an endorsement is expertise and trustworthiness. According to McCracken (1989) the level of success when communicating a marketing message depends heavily on the expertise and trustworthiness of the endorsed celebrity. Also physical attractiveness of the celebrity could be a determining factor affecting the effectiveness (Kamins, 1989).

2.3.4 Ambush marketing

Ambush marketing is a marketing strategy that occurs when a brand attempts to associate itself with a marketing event, without paying the official sponsorship fee, in order to gain benefits only available to official sponsors (Bean 1995; Meenaghan, 1996). Companies that are not the official sponsor use ambush marketing in order to gain awareness and obtain other marketing objectives, and at the same time detract from a rival that is the official sponsor, and thereby they diminish the value of the official sponsor (Amis et al, 1999; Crow and Hoek, 2003). This is a severe problem for the official sponsor and it represents a large threat to future sporting events, because on one side there are sponsors of the event that pay millions of dollars to be the exclusive sponsor, and on the other side there are companies gaining attention without paying any fees. The importance of sponsors in big events is immense because the events are dependent on the sponsorship fees to be able to host the events (Ellen, 2012). Therefore, it is important for sponsors and event organisers to fight against these ambushing competitors, in order to keep the exclusivity and maintain the sponsorship advantages (Mazodier et al, 2012). Even though efforts are made to prevent ambush marketing, the success is limited due to the fast development of new ambushing strategies (Chadwick & Burton, 2010).

There are several definitions for the different forms of ambush marketing. Meenaghan (1996) describes five common ambushing strategies that companies use. Firstly, “Sponsoring Media Coverage of an Event” means that a company that is not the official sponsor of an event, obtain the broadcasting rights and thereby attain higher brand awareness in relation to the event without being a sponsor. This happened in the Olympics in 1984, when Fuji had purchased the exclusive rights to advertise in the event, and rival Kodak purchased the broadcasting rights, and thereby got access to the events audience and got associated to the event (Meenaghan, 1996). The second form of ambush marketing that Meenaghan (1996) explains is “Sponsoring a

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12 Subcategory within an Event”. This is when the ambushing company decides to sponsor some lesser category within the event, at a lower cost than the official sponsorship fee. Again, a dispute between Kodak and Fuji illustrates this, but this time the roles were reversed. Kodak was the official sponsor in the 1988 Olympic Games, and Fuji sponsored the U.S swim team and advertised aggressively, and thereby associated themselves with the event at a lower cost. Further, making a sponsorship-related contribution to the “Players´pool” means that the ambushing company is sponsoring individual athletes or teams participating in an event. Athletes and teams have a powerful position in events, and they are looking to sell their property rights to sponsors. This creates a complicated situation and brings up the dilemma of whose rights should prevail (Meenaghan, 1996). One example of this is when Puma sponsored Usain Bolt in the 2008 Olympic Games, and after winning the Gold in the 100 meter race, he held up his Puma shoes when being photographed (Ellen, 2010). Moreover, Meenaghan (1996) explains that the ambusher can plan marketing activities that coincides with the event, or purchase traditional advertising around the event. For example, the rival company to the official sponsor might advertise heavily during or around a sponsored event. This happened in the 1992 Olympics, when McDonald´s was the official sponsor, and another fast-food chain, Wendy´s, featured an Olympic champion figure skater in their commercials. This connected Wendy´s to the event and detracted from their rivals McDonald´s, while the audience got confused about what company actually were the sponsor of the event. The last form of ambush marketing that Meenaghan describes is “developing imaginative ambush strategies”. Ambushing companies make use of creative campaigns and new forms of media to promote themselves in connection to events. One example of a creative campaign was the brewing company Fosters ambushed the official sponsor Steinlager in the Rugby World Cup in Great Britain in 1992. Fosters ran a campaign in Great Britain during the event, using the tag line “Swing low sweet carry-out”, which was clearly a play with the words from the British rugby teams anthem “Swing low sweet chariot” in an attempt to be associated with the event without paying an expensive sponsorship fee (Meenaghan, 1996).

Other authors that have written about the topic of ambush marketing are Chadwick and Burton (2010). They identified three different forms of ambush marketing. Direct Ambush Activities.

Indirect Ambushes, and Incidental Ambushing.

1. Direct ambush activities include Predatory Ambushing, Coattail Ambushing, Property

Infringement, and Self-Ambushing, and takes place when a brand intentionally tries to associate itself with an event without paying the sponsorship fees. Sometimes companies do this primarily to attack their rivals, other times this activity occurs mainly to take advantage of the large audience watching the event (Chadwick & Burton 2010). Some examples of direct ambush activities are when American Express had an ad during the Summer Olympics 1992 in Barcelona saying “And remember, to visit Spain, you don't need a visa”, while Visa was the official sponsor of the Games. One more example is when a sportswear company is sponsoring an athlete participating in an event that is sponsored by the rival brand. Moreover, if a company intentionally makes use of a protected intellectual property, unauthorized, it is also direct ambushing. Examples of such properties include logos, words and symbols associated with the

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13 event. All these activities create confusion for the customers about who actually is the official sponsor (Chadwick & Burton 2010).

2. Indirect Ambushes include Associative Ambushing, Distracting Ambushing, Values Ambushing,

Insurgent Ambushing and Parallel Property Ambushing. It is defined as the intentional association of a brand with an event in order to market their product, but the brands main focus is not to take attention from their rivals, as in the direct ambush activities. An example of this is when a brand is putting up ads and billboards near the event without making a specific connection to the event itself, but in order to gain awareness from the event’s audience. Moreover, when a brand uses an event´s central theme to associate itself with that event in the consumer's mind, it is also a form of indirect ambushing. For example, Puma had a soccer related ad during the FIFA World Cup in June 2008, with the slogan “June 2008: Together

Everywhere”, and the theme of the event was unity and anti-racism. Lastly, if a brand competes

for the public´s attention by sponsoring an event that is related to another event, as in the case when Nike sponsored a running event only seven days after the Olympic Games 2008, it is indirect ambushing (Chadwick & Burton, 2010).

3. Incidental Ambushing includes Unintentional Ambushing and Saturation Ambushing. It can be

explained as an unintended association with an event. The consumers think that the brand is a sponsor, however, the brand has not made any attempts to establish that connection. Even if it is not intended, it still is a problem for the host of the event since it clutters the marketing environment. For example, if media coverage mentions clothing or equipment used by an athlete, this can confuse consumers thinking of that particular company as the official sponsor, even if they are not. In the Beijing Olympics 2008, the Speedo LZR racer swimsuits were mentioned so frequently that the audience thought Speedo was an official Olympic sponsor (Chadwick & Burton 2010; Söderman & Dolles, 2010).

Based upon Chadwick & Burton, 2010

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14 Mazodier et al. (2012) explains that “consumers rely on heuristics to recall sponsors and some

may genuinely recall a non-sponsor as a sponsor, simply because the brand is dominant or exhibits a high degree of congruence with the event” (Mazodier, et al, 2012, p. 198). Rival marketers strive

to mislead consumers by ambushing the event, and thereby create awareness. People might misinterpret this action as a marketing activity from the official sponsor, therefore, ambushers take credit for the effort and money that is invested into the event by the official sponsors. Ambush marketing is considered to be a serious problem by hosts of major events, thus legal protection must be provided (Crow and Hoek, 2003; Ellen, 2010). Companies that use events sponsored by rivals as a platform to gain attention and recognition has to act creatively in order to avoid legal responsibilities. Non-sponsors do not carry direct messages, although they aim to create a belief that they are official sponsors. “Labelled ´ambush marketers´ are hounded both by

event organisers and their army of legal counsels, these mavericks aspire to associate their brands with the event through the use of related imagery, heavy advertising around the site or intense presence around the broadcast of the event, and other media-related tactics.” (Mazodier, et al,

2012) To avoid a situation where rival companies get the same benefits as official sponsors of the event, organizers develop rules and limitations that include legal responsibility for non-sponsors.

The level of the ambush marketing protection depends on the size of the event. For big events that are sponsored by various important partner companies, it is necessary to guarantee that their investments and partnership will pay off and to create good relationships for future collaboration (Crow and Hoek, 2003). There are no common rules or restrictions against ambush marketing; regulations are created for each event independently. Examples of restrictions for non-sponsors are the prohibition of using the event logos and slogans, as well as advertisement around and in the area of the event (Blayney-Stewart, 2011).

2.4 Conceptual Framework

For thorough research development it is necessary to acknowledge relevant topics for the theoretical framework. According to Fisher (2010), creating a conceptual framework is simplifying the research task. The conceptual framework helps the researchers to provide structure and logic to the thesis. It also indicates the movement from confusion stage to certainty (Fisher, 2010). In this section the conceptual framework used throughout this thesis is introduced. The focal topic that is discussed and investigated in this thesis is brand awareness, and how it is created and increased by sponsorship and the use of the viral and ambush marketing in major events. For a better understanding of the chosen topics a conceptual framework figure was developed (Figure 3).

As shown in the conceptual framework figure, “sporting event” is the broad area all concepts are connected to, and therefore it is in the background of all the concepts involved in the figure. In the bottom of this figure there are two elements- “official sponsorship” and “non-official sponsorship”. In sporting events, sponsors can belong to only one of these two groups. These sponsors perform their promotional and sponsoring activities in different ways. The official sponsors perform activities with the “exclusive rights and advantages” from the event

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15 organisers, while non-official sponsors performs “ambush marketing” in order to create brand awareness. Both the official and non-official sponsors use different “communication channels” as a part of their “branding” strategies. In this study there is focus on two communication channels “viral marketing” and “athlete endorsement”. Within the topic of sporting event, our main focus is “brand awareness”, and therefore the concept of brand awareness is at the top of this model with all the other concepts leading towards it.

Figure 3 Conceptual Framework

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Chapter 3: Methodology

In this chapter, the methods applied and the research design is discussed. First, the selection of topic and the interest and relevance of this study will be explained. Furthermore, the research design and the data collection of primary and secondary sources are presented, followed by the reliability and validity of the data that was used when conducting this study will be presented, and the chapter is concluded with the limitations and ethical considerations.

3.1 Selection of Topic

We started our research by deciding on an interesting topic that we wanted to research. According to Fisher (2010) it is important for the authors to choose a topic that is interesting and exciting, to be able to have the motivation throughout the project and to write a good thesis. We chose “Brand building in major sporting events” as the main topic, since branding and sport are two current topics and common interest. We did a brief research of the topic and found several academic articles regarding corporate sponsorships and other forms of marketing in major sporting events. Particularly the event of the Olympics caught our attention, being one of the largest sporting event in the world (Meenaghan, 1996). We formulated a preliminary research question to keep the researched focused: How do companies create brand awareness through sponsorship in major sporting events? We wanted to investigate how companies create brand awareness in major sporting events and what kind of communication channels they use. When conducting a deeper research, we decided to look at the official sponsor’s activities, as well as the non-official companies marketing activities (ambush marketing) before this year’s Olympic Games. However, when conducting our literature review on these topics, we found that little research has been done comparing sponsors and non-sponsors marketing strategies. We also discovered a literature gap when looking at viral marketing as a marketing communication channel in major sporting events. This made us curious on these topics and we decided to look further into them.

We concentrated our study on the sportswear industry, since sportswear is an essential for athletes when they compete during the Games and therefore a visible element for the audience watching from all over the world. The focus is on the two industry giants Adidas and Nike, because Adidas is the official sponsor of this summers Olympics and Nike, the world´s largest sportswear brand (Dogiamis & Vijayashanker, 2009), is a non-official sponsor. An interesting topic that we came across was the concept of Ambush Marketing, that we decided to research further, as well as viral marketing activities and athlete endorsement, which became the main focus of our empirical findings and analysis.

In this study we conducted a literature review and found plenty of academic literature regarding the topics of branding and brand building. This information gave us an understand of the ‘landscape’ of these subjects. We investigated books of known marketers, like Philip Kotler, Pervez N. Ghauri, Philip Cateora, which helped us to shape the theoretical base of the research. Secondary data about brand building, brand awareness, marketing communications and event marketing was found in academic journals that are available in databases like Google Scholar, Ebrary, ABI/INFORM Global and Emerald, and provided us with reliable, peer-reviewed

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17 journals. However, data about current topics like for example ambush marketing, viral marketing and netnography, was harder to find and therefore newspapers and other new publications served as sources for this information collection.

When searching in the databases and the World Wide Web, we used the following keywords in different combinations:

Branding* Brand Awareness* Marketing communication channels*

Olympics 2012* Ambush Marketing* Viral Marketing* Athlete Endorsement* Official sponsorship* Non-ofiicial sponsor* Adidas* Nike*

3.2 Interest and relevance

As the largest sporting event in the world (London 2012 Organizing Committee, 2011), the Olympic Games phenomena is a very interesting and relevant event for global companies that want to improve brand awareness and other marketing objectives through sponsoring and advertising in sporting events. It is a unique opportunity for companies to advertise while the ‘whole’ world is watching (Meenaghan, 1996), and therefore we will use this event as a platform for our study. The competition for brand awareness is fierce, and our study gives insight in this rivalry. We will explore the sportswear industry and the two main players, Adidas and Nike, and we will investigate these companies different marketing approaches. Moreover, the topic of ambush marketing is interesting because it is not extensively researched, and and there is limited literature on how ambush marketing diminishes the effectiveness of sponsorship (Wei, n.d) and ambush marketing is becoming an increasing problem in the Olympics (Ellen 2010). This study is of relevance for companies interested in event marketing, for hosts of large events, as well as it is informative reading material for marketers interested in advertising in sporting events and ambush marketing. Moreover, this study will be significant material for athletes to understand their importance in this off-field marketing competition and for fans to understand on what level they are exposed to marketing just by watching a sporting event.

3.3 Research Design

The purpose of this study is to explore what companies are doing to advertise and create brand awareness prior to the Olympic Games this year. Therefore it is necessary to investigate the Olympic Games phenomena and develop an overall understanding of the marketing approaches used prior to the Olympic Games as well as to investigate the impact of ambush marketing on brand awareness. In order to get a broader scope of the research problem we let the investigation develop naturally, leading us to new aspects since it is hard to predict the outcome of this study due to the uniqueness of the investigation’s environment. However, the conceptual framework helped us to ‘frame’ this research and lead us to the preferred direction.

There are various possibilities of how to design a study, as well as two general types of research, qualitative and quantitative approach. A qualitative approach is used when a question needs to be described and investigated more in depth, in some cases with fewer raw data and aimed on quality, and usually no measurements or statistics are used. Instead, words, descriptions and

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18 quotes are used. The data gathering strategies that the researcher employs include for example structured and unstructured in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observations. A quantitative analysis is used when something needs to be measured, and it is based on a more broad and overall analysis and aimed on quantity. It usually contains numbers and statistics. Research tools used in this type of data collection are for example questionnaires and surveys.

Many times the two methods are used in the same study to provide measurements for comparison and evaluation and to give a more in-depth explanation. The method of using two different research approaches is called “mixed-method studies” (Spratt, 2004). Mixed-method studies use different methods of data collection and analysis within a single study. One example of this method is when “the researcher conducts a series of semi-structured interviews with a

small number of students and also carry out a large-scale survey” (Spratt, 2004).

In this research we used a “mixed-method studies” approach. We have primarily followed a qualitative approach, as we have focused our research mainly on observations of the viral environment via primarily social networks and blogs. We also conducted semi-structured interviews with an Adidas representative, the event manager of the Swedish track and field team, and an Olympic athlete. However, in order to conduct a measurement to be able to make a comparison of brand exposure, we also needed to a use the quantitative research approach.

3.4 Data collection

In general, there are two types of data collection used for any research; primary data from primary sources, and secondary data from secondary sources (Bryman & Bell, 2011). In this study, we have used both primary data and secondary data to conduct the study. We will now discuss these two types of data in more detail in the following subsections.

3.4.1 Secondary Data

Secondary data is information that has already been collected by external parties and that is readily available (Bryman & Bell, 2011). The main advantages of his type of data are that they are cheaper and much quicker to obtain than primary data. Secondary data is also very useful when no primary data can be obtained (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Moreover, secondary data provides a basis for comparison, and it can be used to validate the primary data collected by the researcher. The main disadvantage of using secondary data is that the data is collected by others than the researcher who will use the data, and their purpose of the collection may be different. Thus, the data may not entirely fit to the second group’s problem (Fisher, 2010).

Some other problems with the use of secondary data include the possibility of subjective influence, for example, if the data was taken from a biography it may contain poor validity and low quality. These can all diminish the accuracy of the research, and should be considered when choosing the method of data collection (Fisher, 2010). There are no specific methods of collecting secondary data, but they can include, for example, data collection from public records, census data, newspapers and surveys (Fisher, 2010).

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19 In this study, we used secondary data from official websites, which we investigated to get information directly from the source. Moreover, we looked at up-to-date electronic journals, which gave us information of new topics like netnography and the emerging problems with ambush marketing. For further information, we looked at newspapers talking about Nike and Adidas and other related topics discussed in the news.

3.4.2 Primary Data

When realizing that existing secondary data was not providing sufficient information to answer our research questions in this study, it was apparent that primary data was needed. Primary data refers to data that you collect yourself using methods like interviews, questionnaires and focus groups. According to Fisher (2010), there are six most commonly used methods:

● Interviews

● Questionnaires

● Panels, including focus groups

● Observation, including participant observation

● Documents

● Databases

According to Bryman and Bell (2011) quantitative approach is testing of theory, therefore the qualitative approach is generating theory. Quantitative research is considered to involve more numbers and can be more easily related to questionnaires and database analysis, while qualitative research is considered to be more related to interviews and documents as they involve more words, not numbers. It is still possible to conduct both approaches with either of the methods.

The main advantage of primary data collection is that the data collected is unique to the authors and the research, and until it is published no one else has access to it. Thus, this type of data is much more consistent with the specific research problem and research objective at hand. The main disadvantages of collecting primary data are that it might be expensive and time consuming. Moreover, it could also be difficult to get access to the right people to interview, and if the research is not done properly and analyzed correctly, the reliability of the data might be questionable (Fisher, 2010).

3.4.3. Netnography

Today, over two billion people are using online communities (Miller, 2012) such as newsgroups, blogs, forums, social networking sites, pod casting, video casting, and photo sharing communities. Therefore the Internet has become an invaluable platform for research (Kozinets, 2010).

In this study, the majority of the empirical data was collected through etnography observations online, so called Netnography (Tynan, McKechnie, Chhuon, 2009; Kozinets, 2010). “Netnography,

or ethnography on the Internet, is a new qualitative research methodology that adapts ethnographic research techniques to the study of cultures and communities emerging through computer-mediated communications” (Kozinets, 2002 p2). Kozinets further describes

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20 netnography as an online marketing research technique that provides consumer insight by studying information publicly available in online communities. For example, the researcher can discover word-of-mouth discussions between consumers occurring in a natural environment. Compared to traditional etnography, netnography is faster, simpler, and less expensive. Moreover, the method is explained to be more naturalistic and unobtrusive than focus groups or interviews. Limitations of this research method includes the narrow focus on online communities, the lack of informant identifiers present in the online context and the difficulty to generalize results to groups outside the online community sample (Kozinets, 2002).

In this study, netnography data were collected for each of the chosen brands over a two month period. During this time we followed the developments of the activities online performed by our two chosen companies. We observed their advertising campaigns online, and looked for comments and responses as well as popularity by comparing the number of views of videos launched by the two companies. The social media sites we observed included YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Moreover, we also looked at additional efforts the companies are undertaking to create brand awareness prior to the Olympics, for example product launches online.

When investigating viral environment, the trustworthiness and usefulness of the information obtained from the Internet needs to be evaluated, since the information online is very varying in quality. It can sometimes be difficult to determine if the websites information is reliable or not, and this is a disadvantage of this research method. However, one advantage with netnography is that it can be less obtrusive compared to traditional observations done with focus groups and interviews, and the groups studied are not aware that they are studied, and will therefore not change behavior as the case can be when they know that they are observed.

When observing commercials on YouTube, the authors looked at the numbers of views the videos had. This number is reliable, however, it does only give the total number of hits, and not the unique number of watchers. This means that one person could have watched the video many times, and the researchers do not know how many.

When observing the blogs online, the aim was to find the general buzz about the two researched companies. Despite the fact that individual blogs might not be the most reliable source since people are free to write whatever they want, it does reveal peoples opinions about subjects, and therefore we looked at a large number of blogs and social network sites to find information about the general buzz.

3.4.4 Interviews

Other primary data was collected through phone interviews as well as interviews via email, to collect primary data that was qualitative in nature. We used a semi-structured method, which means that the interviewee had some predetermined questions to answer, but also were allowed to speak freely about the topic under discussion (Fisher, 2010). This method is more loose and informal in the structure, and it helped us to find more useful information than if we used a pre-coded interview which is strictly controlled by the researcher (Fisher 2010).